From Sky to Wasteland
by odd-gelato
Summary: The still night was shattered by booms that shook the dry air. They looked up and they saw – the sky was falling. [AU where Tesla doesn't die.]
1. Chapter 1

_One of the biggest things that bothers me about Trigun is how little we learn about Gunsmoke. I'd been thinking about how to write some kind of fic revolving around this, and I found inspiration in an AU conceived by tumblr user karaii - one where Tesla doesn't die. I don't have any specific plans, so I'm just gonna see where this takes me._

* * *

"Vash." A hand gripped his shoulder. "Vash!"

Vash groaned and tried to pull away. "Fi' more minutes," he mumbled, and tasted sand. Blearily, he opened one eye and saw a skewed horizon, so flat that for a moment he couldn't remember which half was supposed to be the ground and which the sky. Then he saw streaks of light burning through the inky black, and he _remembered_. He shot upright, nearly knocking his head against the head of the young woman bent over him.

"Vash, calm down!" she said, grabbing after him as he tried to scramble away. It wasn't until her grip closed down on his forearms that he realized he was screaming.

He took a deep shuddery breath. "Tesla," he said, his voice wavering. "Rem's gone, isn't she?"

Tesla shifted her hands to hold Vash's, and she pressed her forehead against them. "Yeah," she said softly. "She is."

Vash felt a deep void open up inside of him. "Knives…?" he croaked.

Tesla looked over her shoulder at the crashed shuttle behind her. "He won't come out," she replied. "I was hoping maybe you could help me."

Vash followed her gaze. "I… I don't think I can even stand," he said. Everything was spinning around him.

Tesla tightened her hold on him in alarm. "I checked your injuries, you-"

"No," Vash interrupted, bowing his head. "I just…"

Tesla realized how violently he was shaking. Tear tracks smeared the smoke and dust on his face, and a small trickle of blood oozed from a scratch on his cheek. She put one hand on the side of his face and gently tilted his head up to look at her. No matter how much she felt like crying right then, she needed to be strong for her little brothers. "It's going to be okay, Vash," she whispered. "We still have each other. It'll be hard, but we're gonna make it. You know why?"

Vash snuffled and wiped his sleeve across his face. "Why?"

Smiling through the hurt, she flicked his nose and said, "Because we're awesome."

Vash couldn't help giving a small smile in return.

She stood up and hauled Vash to his feet. "Now, are you going to help me talk some sense into your brother?"

Vash nodded and allowed her to lead him across the sand to the smoking escape pod. He peered in the open door, Tesla leaning above him. Knives was sitting at the control panel, head buried in his arms.

"Knives?" Vash asked cautiously. When he got no response, he stepped inside. The metal creaked ominously under his feet. It was a sturdy shuttle, but it had taken a serious beating. Staying in it much longer wouldn't be a good idea. He approached his brother and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We should go," he said softly.

Knives whirled on him, slapping his hand away. Fury blazed in his eyes, and Vash had to take a step back under the weight of it. "No!" Knives snarled. "This is where Rem sent us! If we go anywhere, she won't be able to find us."

Tesla looked down. This was the same thing he'd said to her when _she'd_ tried to get him to leave. She'd tried reasoning with him, but…

Vash felt his throat close up. "Knives, Rem is… is…" He swallowed. "You _saw_ the ship break up."

"She could have gotten out!"

Anger suddenly welled up in Vash, mirroring his brother. "There _was_ _no time_!" he screamed, clenching his fists. "She's _dead_, Knives! She isn't coming to find us! Sitting here in this piece of junk isn't going to change anything!"

"I don't _care_!" Knives screamed back, now standing nose-to-nose with Vash.

"Yeah?" Vash retorted, somehow getting even louder. "Well, I don't care that you don't care!" He knew even as the words fell out of his mouth that they didn't quite make sense.

Whatever Knives might have said next was cut off by a sudden huge _boom_ that shook the ground and toppled the three of them over. The shuttle shifted in the sand and began to slide. Tesla, half in and half out of the pod, could see that it was headed down a slope towards a pit, and she instinctively knew that none of them should be inside when it reached the bottom. "Both of you, out, now!" she shouted, reaching inside. Vash grabbed her hand, hooking his other arm tightly through Knives' despite his twin's struggling. Tesla pulled them free, scrabbling at what little purchase the loose grit offered. The three of them collapsed on the rim of the pit, panting as they watched the shuttle slowly sink out of sight. Finally catching her breath, Tesla looked over in the direction the sound had come from, and her jaw dropped. "Vash, Knives," she said. "We need to get to that rock."

First the two looked at the formation she was pointing at, maybe half an ile away, then at what she was staring at.

A huge wall of dust was billowing towards them across the desert, getting closer by the second.

Tesla leapt to her feet, dragging her siblings with her, and broke into a sprint. The three of them raced for what little cover the outcropping would provide, and had barely made it before the sandstorm hit. They huddled together in the lee of the rock, clinging tightly to each other as wind and sand whipped past them. None of them were sure how long it was until the howling winds receded, but they stayed like that for some time after it passed, trying to find shelter from a storm only known to them.

After a while, the first sun began to rise, and Tesla stood up. She could see in the distance a dark pinprick that was bound to be the crashed ship that had kicked up the shockwave. Crouching back down, she put her hands on her brothers' heads. "Come on, guys," she said. "We have some walking to do."


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't know if anyone is actually reading this, but I'm doing it anyway. I realized that Tesla is kind of like an OC, but she is also a canon character. A canon original character? Is that possible? I guess so. Also I did some doodles of her that I will post at some point, if anyone's interested. Who am I kidding I'll post them whether or not anyone's interested. This is my life now. Laughing alone with a canon original character._

* * *

_Tesla peered over the edge of the crib at the squalling infant inside. "So…" she said slowly. "They're like me?"_

_Rem smiled. She was holding the fairer-haired of the two in her arms. "That's right," she replied, and laughed. "I never thought you would get one little brother, let alone two! Maybe I should wake some of the crew up just to help me."_

_Alarm shot through Tesla. "No!" she said a little too loudly. Then she turned red and cleared her throat. "I can help just fine."_

_The corner of Rem's mouth twitched down. She knew why Tesla didn't want to crew to come back. It had taken a hell of a lot for Rem to convince them that Tesla should be raised as a normal child, not a test subject. Even after two years, Tesla was still scared they might change their minds. "Well then," Rem said. "How about you start by naming them?"_

_Tesla scratched her head. "Both of them?" She looked down at the yellow-haired baby and tickled his nose. He sneezed, and she grinned. "Vash," she said. The child gurgled happily and grabbed at Tesla's finger. She smiled at looked at the twin Rem was holding, sifting through her impressive vocabulary. "Knives," she finally said. "Because it sounds cool."_

_Rem snorted. "He'll grow up to be a supervillain with a name like that."_

_Tesla stuck her tongue out. "You name him, then."_

_"Alright," Rem sighed. "But only because I can't think of anything better. I used up all my naming skills on you."_

_Tesla watched Vash investigate her hand, already alight with curiosity. She was very pleased with the name Rem had given her, having researched its origins. How fitting for a being capable of generating massive amounts of power to be named after a revolutionary electrical engineer – and it was the revolutionary part that she was especially happy about. She loved the idea of being someone who discovered new things, who took what they had learned and changed the world with it for the better. More than anything, that was the kind of person she wanted to be._

* * *

The three of them quickly learned the desert was deceptive. No matter how long they walked, they never seemed to get any closer to the crashed ship. The harsh light of the twin suns beat down on them as they trudged across the barren landscape. At first it had actually been pleasant, had given all three of them a boost of energy. It was, after all, the first time any of them had gotten _real_ sunlight, a major bonus in the upkeep of Plants. But it wasn't taking them long to realize that there was such a thing as _too_ _much_ sun.

Rem had, of course, realized the inherent dangers of space colonization. She'd known the possibility of an incident like this was high, and so part of her curriculum for the three Plants was survival training. Tesla was now running through all the lessons their mother had given them, and lamented the loss of the escape pod. It had contained emergency rations and supplies. As they stood now, they might not make it to the crash site. As Plants, they had increased durability and were able to adapt to any environment, but adaptation took time – time that they didn't have. Evolution didn't happen in a day, and a day was all they had, at best. Even if they made it through the scorching heat, nightfall would return with freezing temperatures.

A hand tugged at her sleeve, and Tesla realized Vash was trying to talk to her. Wiping sweat off her forehead, she looked down at him. "Sorry, what is it?"

"I'm hungry," Vash said in a small voice, rubbing absently at his stomach. He glanced over at his twin, who was walking with his head down and shoulders hunched. "Knives is, too."

So was she, she realized with a sinking sensation. Shading her eyes, she glanced at the sky. The suns had nearly reached their zenith, and the speck of their destination was no larger. She was beginning to feel like the land itself – parched and empty. There was a soft sigh behind her, followed closely by a _thud_. Turning, she saw a puff of dust beginning to settle around Knives' collapsed figure. She hurried to his side and rolled him over. His lips were dry and cracked, and his eyelids fluttered faintly against the hard light of the suns. "Come on, Knives," she murmured. "We have to keep going."

"Why?" he muttered.

"We have to live," Tesla replied, gripping his shoulder. "For Rem. For all of us."

Knives frowned faintly. "I'm tired."

Vash hovered behind Tesla. His distress was palpable, and it weighed down on her. "Alright," she said to Knives. "I'll carry you." With a grunt, she heaved him up onto her back, hooking her arms under his knees. He tucked his face into the crook of her neck, his arms draped over her shoulders. With Vash hanging uncertainly onto her sleeve, she began to walk again.

* * *

Evening descended upon them. They'd found a small outcropping to huddle up against, but it was no protection from the cold. The desert air was so dry that once the sun was gone, there was nothing to retain the heat of the day, and it evaporated like a mirage. They curled close to each other, trying to keep each other warm. Under normal circumstances, they could have generated all the warmth they needed, but they were exhausted, dehydrated, and shaking from hunger. Knives had already fallen into fitful sleep, and Vash was close behind him. Tesla struggled to keep her eyes open, afraid that if she fell asleep, she would never wake again. It was a losing battle. Her eyelids felt like lead, and her breathing began to slow.

Sluggishly, she became aware of a fourth presence – large, towering above them, blotting out the stars. She thought she should probably be scared, but she didn't have the energy.

Then it spoke, sort of. She wasn't sure. It greeted her. No words were said, but she felt it ask something of her. It wanted to know what she was. There was no malice, only curiosity.

"Help," she whispered through sunburnt lips, and then blackness enveloped her.


End file.
